Matthew Harris and Rohan Singh are instilling a passion for music with simple five-gallon buckets.
The seniors are presidents of Providence Day’s Bucket Drumming Service Club, where members take buckets and sticks to Lower School and the Freedom School during the summer and teach children how to bucket drum.
“This is the only music-based service club, so it allows for my co-president and I to truly spread music to younger generations and foster a passion for music,” Matthew, a guitarist with the school’s jazz band, says. He’s also the lead guitarist of his band Delayed Scheduling, an Indie/Alternative rock group that includes Providence Day members Owen Moore and Rohan.
Members have conducted a clinic and have aspirations of serving local public schools and the larger community.
“The bucket drumming club shows the passion and commitment that Providence Day has for music education,” says Dr. Michael Hough, the club’s faculty advisory and Performing Arts Department Chair and Band Director. “It is a unique way to serve the community and teach music literacy to students.”
Rohan Singh ‘25 (left) and Matthew Harris ‘25 (right) have revived the Bucket Drumming Service Club that was originally started by Grant Abrams ‘18.
Bucket drumming, also called street drumming, is a style of music that involves drumming on plastic buckets or other objects.
“Bucket drumming is a fun and accessible way to teach basic musical literacy skills like rhythmic fluency, basic music notation, coordination, and collaborative playing,” Dr. Hough says. “It can also help develop fine motor skills, creativity, and listening skills.”
Grant Abrams, a Providence Day alumni who graduated in 2018, started the Bucket Drumming Service Club when he attended the school. Grant and his peers were passionate about making sure all students had music education as part of their schooling, Dr. Hough says. The club served local public elementary schools that did not have thriving music programs.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, the club was discontinued—until Matthew and Rohan resurrected it last year.
“This club is important to Providence Day because it allows us to bring in a new type of class to the Lower School children—one that is more interactive and engaging,” Matthew says. “Further, it allows Upper School students to gain leadership experience as we work to mentor young children through our shared passion of music.”